St Saviour's CofE Infant School

St Saviour’s CofE Infant School Spring Lane, Larkhall, Bath, Somerset BA1 6NY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have responded to the dips in achievement over the past two years. However, their current actions are not bringing about improvement quickly enough.  Teaching is not consistently helping pupils to achieve well. Teachers do not use assessment information well enough to shape learning which builds pupils’ skills securely.  Pupils are not making fast enough progress in writing, particularly boys and the most able pupils. Teachers are not developing pupils’ skills of sentence construction, grammar and spelling sufficiently rigorously.  In mathematics lessons work is not well matched to pupils’ different abilities. The most able pupils, in particular, are not challenged to extend their mathematical thinking.   Teachers accept pupils’ untidy presentation of their work too readily. They do not expect pupils to correct simple errors. This lack of challenge inhibits pupils’ development as learners. 

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Subject leaders are not developing the quality of teaching in their subjects securely. Strategies for teaching writing and mathematics are not embedded yet and lack clarity.  When monitoring teaching, not all leaders take sufficient account of the impact of teaching on improving pupils’ progress and this restricts improvement.  The system for analysing assessments of pupils’ progress has been put in place very recently. Leaders have lacked sufficient information to know if curriculum changes have been effective. The school has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Governors support leaders and challenge the school to make improvements. Leaders ensure that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils hastens their progress.  Effective leadership and good teaching have enabled children to make good and improving progress in the early years.  Parents and carers are highly positive about the school’s caring ethos and hold leaders in high regard.  Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, develop phonic skills quickly in Year 1. Pupils learn to read early and well.  Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are well supported and make good progress.  Pupils play and work together well. They behave well around school and feel safe.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the impact of leadership and management, by: – further developing the roles of subject leaders so that they have a consistently good impact on the quality of teaching – clarifying the school’s approach to teaching writing and mathematics so that it is fully understood and followed by all teachers – swiftly implementing the school’s new system of tracking pupils’ progress so that gaps in pupils’ understanding can be identified more quickly – developing the school’s approaches to monitoring the quality of teaching so that the results of leaders’ actions are measured against their impact on pupils’ achievement.  Improve teaching, learning and assessment, thereby ensuring that all pupils make consistently good progress by teachers: – using assessment information to inform teaching which challenges all pupils, including the most able – developing pupils’ sentence structure and grammar so they can express their ideas

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

more fluently – overcoming pupils’ current common errors in spelling and handwriting – planning tasks in mathematics which enable pupils to apply their knowledge to problem-solving so that more achieve a greater depth of understanding.  Strengthen pupils’ personal development so that they become confident learners, by all teachers: – supporting pupils to identify and correct their own common errors – giving pupils clearer guidance on how to present their tasks so that all pupils develop a pride in their work.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leadership requires improvement because the school’s intended improvements to teaching, learning and pupils’ achievement are not secure or happening quickly enough. There have been changes in leadership over the past year and the deputy headteacher took on the acting headteacher role from the spring term to the end of the academic year. Governors, parents and staff value the leadership she brought to the school during this time. The role of mathematics leader has changed this year. During this period of change, in response to the dip in attainment in 2016 and 2017, the school made significant decisions about implementing new approaches to teaching. These are not yet securely embedded.  The school improvement plan identifies the main areas where improvement is needed. However, the school’s evaluation of its effectiveness is not based sufficiently on the progress pupils are making. Leaders have not recognised that the higher expectations

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

of the new curriculum are not yet being taught consistently well. The new tracking system to help leaders and teachers identify which aspects of learning need greater emphasis has only recently been adopted and is not yet supporting leaders’ judgements.  Leaders make frequent checks on the quality of teaching and the headteacher gives teachers good advice on how to improve their practice. However, the professional development needed to embed new curriculum approaches has not been rigorous enough to secure consistently good teaching of writing and mathematics.  Subject leaders’ efforts to improve the quality of teaching are not fully effective. They have explored new ways of teaching to better reflect the current expectations of pupils in key stage 1, but these are not fully understood or used well. The leaders’ feedback to teachers after reviewing pupils’ work does not identify sharply enough where

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

teaching needs to change or improve.  There has been a recent review of the use of the pupil premium which has led to actions which have strengthened leadership. Precise targets and improved strategies for the use of funding mean that disadvantaged pupils are now making stronger progress. Leaders track all pupils’ progress well and have a good knowledge of pupils’ vulnerabilities and barriers to learning.  Leaders have an inclusive approach to ensuring that all pupils take a full part in the curriculum, especially pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. They target spending wisely and, as a result, these pupils make good progress. The school’s commitment to equality of opportunity is clearly seen in their documentation and values and is evident in the daily life of the school. Leaders’ plans to improve outcomes for different groups of pupils show their intention to continue to develop this aspect of their work.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The curriculum is broad and pupils are given good opportunities to develop their knowledge of history and geography, in particular. The curriculum for writing and mathematics has been changed to better reflect the deeper knowledge and skills which pupils are expected to have by the end of Year 2. These aspects of the school’s curriculum have yet to be consolidated so that they can have a full impact on achievement.  The headteacher and all staff have a deep commitment to building pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Class names reflect different countries around the world. Developing pupils’ knowledge of these countries’ cultures forms part of the ongoing curriculum in school. In Christian assemblies, leaders incorporate cultural and religious ideas from other faiths and introduce pupils to different languages. For example, pupils tried saying ‘Happy New Year’ in a range of languages. Pupils are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

given good opportunities to develop social skills and respect for British values through fundraising and learning about their rights and responsibilities.  Parents are extremely positive about their children’s experience of school. They hold leaders and teachers in high regard and recognise the commitment the school shows to understanding their children as individuals. As one parent wrote, reflecting the opinions of others, ‘a great community school with strong positive values that nurtures children with a genuine child-centred approach’.  Leaders use the sport premium well. Pupils are enthused by opportunities to try new sports such as martial arts. The school is able to join with other schools to extend teachers’ skills and develop wider opportunities for pupils.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have good levels of expertise and are bringing high challenge and effective support to leaders. They share leaders’ understanding of the strategic priorities of the school. They are not complacent and know that there is more work to do to achieve the best for all pupils.  Governors have used the good advice in the recent review of the pupil premium to intensify their focus on improving the progress of disadvantaged pupils. They receive good information from school leaders and use this to ensure that actions, such as improving the attendance of disadvantaged pupils, are effective.  Governors’ minutes and records of discussions with leaders show that they are confident to challenge decisions on performance. They show that governors link their questions productively to pupils’ progress and the impact of teaching on learning. Their discussions with leaders and teachers are effective in helping to identify where more

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Governance of the school

support is needed, for example for resources and the classroom environment.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders and governors prioritise pupils’ welfare and uphold a strong culture of vigilance in order to keep pupils safe. Staff are regularly trained in good practice in safeguarding, including by the headteacher who is qualified to deliver this training.  Leaders quickly pursue concerns about pupils who may be at risk of harm and have effective systems to track and record the support that pupils are receiving from other agencies. Good relationships and the knowledge that leaders have of pupils and their families mean that parents are positive about the support they have from the school.  The school recruits staff carefully, following all guidance on the checks which should take place. Identity checks for all visitors and visiting coaches who come to the school are rigorous.  Parents are very positive about how the school supports their children’s welfare and

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Safeguarding

how quickly staff respond if parents raise concerns. One parent expressed this as the school providing, ‘a calm, safe and fun environment.’  School leaders promote active play at lunchtime, where pupils climb and build. The vigilance and the good engagement of the midday supervisory staff ensure that pupils can engage safely in this exciting play.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement because teachers do not use assessment information well enough when planning for learning. This is particularly the case in the teaching of writing and mathematics. Teachers regularly make assessments of pupils’ achievements and discuss with leaders how progress can be hastened. However, they do not use this knowledge sufficiently well to inform the planning for learning in lessons.  During lessons, teachers develop pupils’ ideas of what to write about, but they do not plan to teach the specific skills of writing. As a result, pupils do not develop the quality of their sentences, use of grammar or structure of their writing sufficiently well over time.  Pupils are not encouraged to review their writing in order to improve it. This restricts pupils, particularly the most able, in reaching a greater depth of learning. Spelling

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

patterns practised in phonic skills lessons are not referred to either in writing lessons or in other subjects in the curriculum. Over time, this has meant that boys in particular have not made good progress in writing. Currently, pupils, particularly boys, are continuing to make repeated errors in their spelling and handwriting which are not being overcome.   Teachers do not use what they know about pupils’ prior learning to plan lessons which deepen pupils’ understanding in mathematics. The tasks pupils are given lack challenge. For example, pupils who were capable were not challenged to set out vertical addition sums for themselves. This limited pupils’ ability to strengthen their knowledge of place value.  The school is implementing a new approach to teaching mathematics to provide pupils with greater challenge. As yet, teachers are not using assessment well enough to find pupils’ starting points on the programme. This is particularly limiting the challenge for

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

the most able pupils. Pupils’ workbooks show that tasks are not building skills of problem-solving or reasoning sufficiently strongly.  Pupils in Year 1 achieve well in the phonics screening check because teachers teach the sounds for reading well. They read frequently with pupils to build confidence and fluency. Reading is promoted well. Special events help parents to understand how reading is taught and they are able to practise reading purposefully at home. These approaches have been particularly successful in supporting disadvantaged pupils with their progress in reading.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities learn well in lessons because they are skilfully supported. Teaching assistants reshape the teaching and monitor carefully to see that pupils are doing their best. Pupils who need a higher level of support are included sensitively and effectively in lessons.  Teachers enthuse pupils with interesting ways to learn about history and geography.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

The Great Fire of London topic has interested Year 2 pupils, who are now designing their own Tudor house models. Equally, pupils in Year 1 have gained extensive knowledge about the rainforest and can explain why it is dark and damp there. The recording of this learning in writing and pictures, however, is hampered by pupils’ difficulties with spelling and handwriting and the quality of their presentation.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. Pupils do not always take care in presenting their work. Work in books shows that pupils’ standards of presentation vary from piece to piece. Pupils often do not take care to spell the common words that they know well accurately or improve their spelling in response to teachers’ feedback.  Pupils are keen learners, but have not been encouraged to look through their work to check that they are achieving the targets set for them at the front of their workbooks. Teachers’ feedback is read and understood by pupils, but they are not using this to make sure they overcome their mistakes next time.  Pupils value the ‘I’m proud’ stickers but do not consider how they could show their pride in their work, for example by colouring in work carefully or taking care with handwriting. Often, this is because teachers do not promote this aspect of the lesson

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Personal development and welfare

well enough when explaining tasks. Classrooms are set up to give pupils advice on how to be successful but currently pupils are not using this advice consistently well to improve their work.  When pupils were given interesting information they quickly absorbed the new vocabulary and were keen to discuss their learning with their friends. They were able to formulate questions to seek more information.  Pupils are given opportunities to take responsibility in school, for example as ‘power savers’ or as members of the eco team or school council. The new school council is helping pupils to learn about democracy, so agreement can be reached about how to develop the playground. All pupils are taught about the importance of using energy wisely and understand that this is for the benefit of the planet.  Pupils take part enthusiastically in the school’s many fundraising activities such as the ‘toilet twinning’ which supported sanitation in developing countries. Equally, they are

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Personal development and welfare

helped to develop new skills to support them now and later in life such as first aid training.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The school is calm and orderly and pupils move around sensibly, following the guidance of their teachers. They are polite, well- mannered and respectful of others. The school’s ‘caring code’ is understood and valued by parents and pupils. Pupils behave equally well in the school breakfast club and after-school club.  In class most pupils behave well and listen to their teacher. If they become restless their attention is refocused on the learning by teaching assistants. Most pupils quickly settle with this guidance.  Pupils play energetically and harmoniously in the playground. They feel safe and say that other pupils are kind. They feel that bullying does not happen and if they have a problem with another pupil, then teachers ‘fix the problem’.  The school’s strategies to improve the engagement of pupils with more challenging behaviour have been successful and this has eliminated the need for exclusion this

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Behaviour

year. These pupils have benefited both from the partnership between home and school and from support to develop their confidence.  Pupils’ attendance has improved this year and shows that most pupils enjoy coming to school. The school’s actions to reduce the number of pupils who are frequently absent have been effective. Overall, the level of attendance last year was broadly in line with national average.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils do not make the consistently good progress of which they are capable and therefore outcomes require improvement. Over the past two years, pupils’ achievement has been variable and has not prepared them well enough for the next stage of their education. Too few pupils whose work had been at the expected level at the end of their Reception Year made the progress necessary to maintain that level of attainment by the end of Year 2. The current standard of pupils’ work does not demonstrate that these variabilities have been overcome, particularly in writing and mathematics and in the achievement of boys and the most able pupils.  In 2017, the proportion of boys reaching the expected standard in writing was low. Few boys made sufficient progress from the end of Year 1 to the end of Year 2. Very few were able to bring greater depth to their writing.  The school’s assessment systems show that the number of boys leaving Year 1 able to

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

write at the expected level was low. Although the information the school presented indicated that many had caught up over the past term, this assessment was too generous for some. This was because the work of some pupils still had unresolved errors in their spelling and handwriting. Additionally, some pupils had not developed the ability to express their knowledge and ideas simply and clearly through their writing. The number of pupils in Year 2 currently writing with skills above those usually expected is low.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 In mathematics, the school improved the proportion of pupils working at the higher level in 2017 over that reached in 2016. In Year 2 currently, pupils’ work is not challenging enough to show that pupils are making progress towards this level this year. This is because the school is not yet using the new programme to base work on building skills based on good assessment.  In recent years the progress made by disadvantaged pupils has rightly been a cause for concern for the school. New strategies introduced following a review of the use of the pupil premium are helping pupils to catch up. Their work now shows evidence of good progress. Almost all disadvantaged pupils reached the expected standard in reading at the end of 2017.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress both over time and in their everyday work. They are given good support and often reach standards in their work very similar to those reached by other pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils make good progress in developing their reading skills from an early stage. The proportion of pupils who reached the required standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was above average last year. Pupils become keen readers and initiatives such as the small mobile libraries encourage pupils to read widely and often for pleasure.  Pupils acquire knowledge quickly in history and geography and develop the specific vocabulary to talk about their learning in depth. They are given access to a wide range of activities within physical education and participate well, absorbing the rules and guidance well.

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Early years provision Good

 The headteacher is knowledgeable about children’s development and the early years curriculum. He provides good leadership of early years and has brought about consistently good teaching across Nursery and the Reception classes.  Over time, children have made good progress across early years. In recent years the proportion of children reaching a good level of development has been above national levels. In 2017, it was a little lower because while almost all children achieved the early learning goal in other subjects they did not do so in writing.  Teachers have responded quickly to the dip in writing levels. They are tackling children’s early spelling and now most children in the Reception classes can write simple sentences using their knowledge of the sounds letters make. Children’s writing books show that they can write their names with correctly formed letters. Teachers’ assessments are accurate and show that pupils are making rapid progress towards the

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Early years provision Good

early learning goal.  Most children join the Nursery and Reception classes with skills and knowledge expected for their age, although some have stronger development in some aspects of their learning. Teachers are quick to spot the most able children and design tasks which stretch and challenge them. For example, in the Nursery class the teacher extended the children’s enjoyment of the toy vehicles by encouraging them to build a slope. The children took on this learning themselves and built higher and longer slopes to test out their toys.  Teachers have high expectations of all children. In mathematics, most children have knowledge of two-digit numbers. For example, children were able to identify the missing number in a number line to twenty. Some children were able to set out and solve calculations with answers beyond ten for themselves. They had also developed their own strategies for drawing the number group and checking the correct answer.

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Early years provision Good

The teacher was aware that children’s figure writing needed improvement and had planned a wide range of activities to encourage accuracy and fluency.  Children in the Nursery and Reception classes are well behaved and keep themselves safe by following the routines and expectations of staff who work with them. Relationships are warm and encouraging and children work together exceptionally well. They sustain their involvement in activities and talk together about their interests and the tasks in hand.  Teachers plan activities for the outdoor classroom and children enjoy their time outside. There are, however, few opportunities for them to apply their skills of reading, writing and number in their outdoor play and sometimes, after they have explored the activities put out for them, the level of challenge dips.  Parents are very positive about the early years setting. They value particularly the good

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Early years provision Good

knowledge teachers have about the children and the rapid progress their children make. They recognise that children’s welfare is given a high priority and fully secured.  Children are very well prepared for their transition to Year 1. They develop good basic skills and also the resilience and good attitudes to learning which will support the next stage of their education.

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School details

Local authority Bath and North East Somerset

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.stsaviours-infant.org/website

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School details

Email address stsaviours_inf@bathnes.gov.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection November 2012

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Information about this school

 St Saviour’s Church of England Infant school is an average-sized school. Many children join the school in the Nursery and go on to one of the two Reception classes. However, a number of children join in their Reception Year from other early years settings. The school has this year reverted to two-form entry after having a larger year group of three classes.  The majority of pupils are White British but there are an increasing number of pupils who are from other minority ethnic groups and a proportion speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities with education, health and care plans is above the national average.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club, both of which were evaluated as part of this inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed a wide range of lessons, covering all classes in the school. The headteacher and deputy headteacher accompanied inspectors on a number of observations.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and senior and middle leaders. The lead inspector also met five members of the governing body, including the chair. She also met with two representatives of the local authority.  An inspector met with a group of pupils but many more were spoken to in their lessons and around the school and playground. The lead inspector read with a group of pupils. The behaviour of pupils was also observed in the school’s act of worship.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of pupils’ workbooks and examples of teachers’ assessments. Leaders shared their analysis of the effectiveness of the school and their plans for improvement.  Inspectors read policies and procedures related to safeguarding and discussed

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Information about this inspection

safeguarding with staff and governors. They reviewed the arrangements for recruiting staff.  An inspector spoke to parents in the playground and noted the one letter which was written by a parent. Inspectors took account of the opinions of parents in the 117 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 74 free-text comments. They also took account of the responses of the 19 members of staff who responded to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Wendy Marriott, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ross Newman Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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